updated 01:08 pm EST, Thu January 17, 2013

Expansion mostly limited to minor towns

Sprint has expanded its LTE 4G coverage to 28 more towns in the US, according an announcement. The new locations are spread out across Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Missouri, Mississippi, Minnesota, Washington, Pennsylvania, Florida, Arizona, Michigan, Louisiana, Texas, and Massachusetts. Most of them are relatively minor; some notable names include Branson, Missouri, and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Sprint is still trying to catch up to Verizon and AT&T in terms of LTE. While it has had some form of LTE since 2008, Sprint initially opted for WiMAX, a standard that has mostly fallen out of favor. The carrier is hoping to complete its LTE network by the end of 2013, something it will need to remain competitive as LTE becomes a de facto standard on tablets and smartphones.